Short Interest in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Drops By 15.5%

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,030,000 shares, a decline of 15.5% from the October 15th total of 18,970,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 4.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on APA from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bernstein Bank lowered their price objective on APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of APA from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of APA from $26.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of APA from $39.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.95.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APA. Harris Associates L P grew its stake in APA by 20.8% in the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 24,914,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $609,414,000 after acquiring an additional 4,293,932 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 30,471,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,411,270 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in APA by 131.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,813,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,704,000 after purchasing an additional 2,736,041 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in APA by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,535,001,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004,555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in APA by 3,450.8% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 985,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,115,000 after buying an additional 958,141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $22.38 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. APA has a 52 week low of $21.15 and a 52 week high of $37.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $24.51 and a 200-day moving average of $27.65. The company has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 3.24.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.12%.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.